Photo by Kyla Principio

“It’s an enriching coffee tour experience.”

“Coffee and friends make the perfect blend.”

“It made me appreciate every cup of coffee even more.”

“I wish there’s another one.”

The tour was only for a day. With comments like these, it can be said that the effect lasted beyond a day. In fact, just a few minutes after happy faces and coffee photos were posted on Facebook, it elicited immediate requests from the public that the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) organized another coffee tour after three months!

PH CAFEEE: BEGINNING AND ESSENCE
The coffee tour that got a lot of buzz on social media is the brainchild of Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez and PCBI President and Co-Chair Pacita Juan.

Through a continuing education for tour guides, the participants were given an in-depth look into some of the country’s sustainable industries like coffee. Thus, 19 accredited tour guides from Region 4A and NCR were part of the Philippine Coffee Activity For Earning, Education, and Enjoyment Program (PH CAFEEE) on November 22, 2017.

The coffee tour started with a morning briefing at the Department of Tourism office in Makati, where the tour guides were also given copies of The Ultimate Coffee Guide. Then, they got on board a coaster headed to Cavite and Tagaytay, where they learned about coffee from farm to cup. With them was PCBI Executive Director Robert Francisco, who shared his knowledge about Philippine coffee.

COFFEE AND MORE
The first stop and Gourmet Farms, where the tour guides were welcomed by Director Len Reyes. While he gave a brief background of how their 30-year-old business started and invited them to go around the shop to check out their various products, guests were served coffee buns, cookies, and a warm cup of coffee.

After they had their fill, they explored the 11-hectare estate and witnessed how Gourmet Farms stores, roasts, and packs its coffees. The cool breeze, the surrounding organic greens, and the aromatic smell of coffee left a good impression on the tour guides who went back to the store and shopped for more.

The next destination was the Nurture Wellness Village. The coaster passed by a few coffee trees that were beginning to bloom on the way to this healthy sanctuary. As the tour guides alighted from the coaster, they were given fresh pandan juice as they took photos and videos of the dancers wearing straw hats and in Filipiniana attire.

Geng Eclarinal of Nurture Farmacy gave a background on the company’s philosophy. The herb and vegetable gardens were just as Instagrammable as the first destination, with quotes that reminded why health and wellness matters. The tour guides were amazed to see a demonstration of a coffee scrub, one of Nurture Wellness Village’s spa offerings.

Who wants to try coffee scrub? One of the highlights of the tour was a demonstration of this spa offering at the Nurture Wellness Village.

Across a quaint spot where a carabao looked lovely with flowers on its head, the staff had set up demonstrations of local arts and crafts like weaving, kite making, and forming a ball using coconut leaves. This showcase of culture continued with a demonstration of Old School coffee grinding and roasting. The tour guides were then treated to a coffee-themed healthy lunch.

Nurture Wellness Village owner Cathy Turvil explained their company philosophy: holistic, quality, proudly Filipino, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. She then proudly introduced her team and invited everyone to dance for wellness.

“Our staff of 150 all belong here in our barangay,” she revealed. Turvil and her husband worked together to equip them with the needed skills until Nurture Wellness Village garnered their well-deserved Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence for three consecutive years!

From Silang to Tagaytay, the tour guides” last stop was in Amadeo. Known as the coffee capital of the Philippines, its rich coffee history harks back to the Spanish era. After all, the town was named after King Amadeo of Spain. The staff of Cafe Amadeo gave a brief yet detailed history, showed them the facilities of the coffee shop, as well as the famous Pahimis Blend.

Pahimis is their local term for giving thanks. In the olden times, it was the coffee farmers’ tradition to share their last can of coffee harvest as a sign of thanksgiving. They believed that it would bring them luck in their next harvest. The tour guides also learned that the annual Pahimis Festival is celebrated in April, in an effort to boost the town’s agri-business and eco-tourism.

The coffee tour in Luzon was a good way to mark the start of the partnership between the DOT and PCBI. Plans are already in place for the Visayas and Mindanao leg.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Like coffee, it’s an experience that one needs to make time for. Beyond the caffeine fix, it’s a tour that will make you feel proud of our coffee heritage.

Photos by Keith Dador

TOURISM can be a ticket to promote Philippine coffee.

This is the direction of the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. (PCBI) as bared by its President Pacita Juan.

“To promote the coffee industry, our direction now is to push for coffee tourism,” she said in a press conference last October 24 at the SMX Convention Center–Lanang during the 10TH National Coffee Summit.

She added that they already connected with the Department of Tourism to realize this vision.

“Tourists nowadays want interactive tourist products and harvesting coffee in a farm, we believe, can lure local and foreign tourists at the same time through this we can promote our coffee, particularly specialty coffee which gaining interest now among farmers and industry players,” Juan said.

Initially, PCBI, she said, will be orienting DOT’s tour guides for a Coffee Harvest experience in Cavite, and soon in Baguio and Bukidnon and DOT will be bringing coffee farm tours to coffee-growing areas especially during harvest time.

For Davao City, Juan mentioned that they identified Mt. Apo as a viable tourism site for a coffee harvest experience.

“For as long as there is mountain, tourists will be there because we have a lot of climbers and trekkers,” she said.

She explained that when the harvest tours start, farmers will have help in harvesting only the ripe ones, and may invite several rounds of tourists as the coffee ripens over time.

“As tourists will harvest only the ‘red’ or ripe fruits, the farmers will be assured of better quality harvests. It is good business sense for the farmer and for the tour operator,” Juan shared.

Tourism undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez supports this plan and said that “Come and harvest with us” campaign can be of good tourism value.

Specialty Coffee awareness increasing
Juan said that awareness of specialty coffee is increasing. More consumers and coffee roasters are buying specialty coffee at a good price.

“Our market now is the specialty roasters who pay triple higher than of what ordinary roaster pay. In America they are asking top quality of coffee. This is how we will empower our farmers, since we had a huge problem on supply, we can still tap the specialty coffee market. Now, farmers’ knowledge on this is improving,” she said.

At present, Robusta is now being bought by specialty roasters at P150 per kilo as compared to ordinary buying price at P80 to P90 per kilo while Arabica is being bought at P250 per kilo as compared to P140 –P150 per kilo of the ordinary buying price in the market.

In the Philippines, some 10 percent is being served by specialty coffee of the total demand by coffee drinkers while 15 to 20 percent of the total global demand is served by specialty coffee.

“A lot are really looking for it now, more people are willing to pay the price in exchange of quality coffee. Look at the 3rd wave coffee shops that are sprouting in the Philippine market. I think the specialty market is growing thus, the Filipino coffee palate is changing,” She said.

Some of the Mindanao specialty coffees graded 86% are Bukidnon’s Kape Maramag (Robusta) and Inhandig Tribal Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Arabica), both won last year’s Kape Pilipino Green Coffee Quality competition.